The Alley
The alley is a wonderful place that is a self contained entity. Everything happens in the system of alleys that is in the block to the West of De Tham Street. Children play and there was a funeral of an old lady whose son came from the US to attend. He told me the funeral lasts a month. There are restaurants and bars. Hotels and shops. Characters galore. A lady who worked at Long Bing while I was stationed there in 1968. There was a man who got drunk once in a while and made a lot of noise. There was a retarded boy who would get wound up and loud. I would rub his hair as I walked by and he would settle down. I met a new friend there whose name is Ut Nho though her friends call her Hoa which means flower. Through Hoa I met her friends. The group would spend the days in the home of one or another and talk or play cards. I got to sit in and meet these people. Hoa’s best friend’s husband owns 5 buses and is part of one of the travel companies. One friend Worked in Spain with her husband. She did not like Spain so she came home and her husband remained in Spain to work for a few more years to save up some money. This lady speaks Vietnamese, English and Spanish. All speak Vietnamese and English except one. Others would tell me what she said ant her what I said. Hoa was married to a Dutch man and lived in Holland for a while till he was transferred to Berlin then Paris. Hoa speaks a little Dutch, German, French and English. Everyone I meet here is so interesting. Another friend had everyone in and put out snacks and played the guitar, which she played very well, she is the lady releasing the birds in the photo below. Her English was very good. Meeting people is so much fun and often one leads to another.

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